Montana drifts to fifth in final standings

Monday, March 13

Dallas, Texas

Montana

ORU/SFAU Women's Spring Break Invitational

3/15/2017 3:57:00 PM | Golf

By: Montana Sports Information

Results

Tied for second entering the final round of the Women's Spring Break Invitational at the Trophy Club Country Club in Dallas, Texas, the Montana women's golf team closed with a 321 on Wednesday to finish fifth in the 16-team field.

The Grizzlies, who had just one score in the 70s on Wednesday, Baylee Barckley's 79, shot a 310 on Monday, a 298 on Tuesday.

"We didn't make as many putts as we did yesterday, and I think we came out a little tight," said coach Matt Higgins. "This was the first time a lot of these girls have played on the last day with a chance to win."

Despite falling out of contention on the final day, it was still a top-five finish in a large tournament field for the Grizzlies.

It was Montana's best finish at a tournament with 10 or more teams since placing fourth out of 13 at the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational in Washington in the fall of 2014.

"We'll focus on the positives from this week, because there are some things we should be pretty proud of," said Higgins. "It was a top-five finish out of 16 teams, so it was a great tournament for us."

The trouble started early on Wednesday, with each of Montana's five players carding at least one double bogey in the first six holes.

There were half as many double bogeys or worse on the back nine but just one birdie, Teigan Avery's three on the par-4 10th.

Barckley, who played the final 10 holes at 2-over, came in with a 79. Kari Opatz and Alexa Schendelman both carded 80s. Hailey Hoagland shot an 82, Avery an 83.

Opatz, at 14-over, was Montana's top finisher, tying for 16th. Barckley tied for 24th at 16-over, Avery tied for 30th at 18-over.

Eastern Kentucky, which shot rounds of 302, 297 and 296, won the tournament by 11 strokes over Northern Colorado, which went 296-296 on Tuesday and Wednesday after shooting a 314 on Monday.

Oral Roberts, which was tied for second with Montana entering the final round, ended up tied for third with Houston Baptist.

Eastern Kentucky's Sofie Levin (69-77-72--218) and Amanda Lindahl (76-72-70--218) shared medalist honors at 2-over for the tournament.

Montana won't compete again until the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic at Maricopa, Ariz., on April 6-7.